


Turian Custom

by Europolarist



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Interspecies Romance, Multi, Teeny bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 07:31:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5576787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Europolarist/pseuds/Europolarist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a Universe where Saren didn't kill Nihlus, he stays aboard the Normandy and mentors Shepard. A relationship grows between Nihlus, Garrus, and Shepard. This story picks up just after the Battle for the Citadel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Turian Custom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [P1rateW3nch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/P1rateW3nch/gifts).



> A Secret Santa gift for P1rateW2nch from the MEFFW group on Facebook. I hope you like it!

Sarah Shepard woke slowly. The first things she became aware of were the now familiar sounds of the two sleeping turians. The body molded against her back hummed near her ear as he breathed in, signaling that it was Garrus who had wrapped his arm around her waist, that it was his chestplate pressed against her back.

In front of her, the body that she’d swung a leg over was Nihlus, her other lover and the oldest of the trio. He was sleeping on his back, his neck, she knew from experience, was resting on a rolled pillow to keep his fringe from digging into the mattress and cutting holes in the sheets. Nihlus snored lightly but his warm breath against her cheek meant that his head was tipped in her direction.

Giving a contented sigh, Sarah nuzzled into the hide of his shoulder. The movement made Garrus’ arm tighten around her waist. It almost caused her to laugh, but she kept herself in check, not wanting to wake one or both of them up. The possessiveness of the two turians toward her and her safety was endearing.

She’d never expected to end up in bed with one of the avian beings, but falling in love with two men, both willing to share her, was hardly believable. Her mother, once Sarah had gathered the courage to tell her, had been just shy of livid. They hadn’t spoken in months but it hadn’t changed how she felt about either man. 

Sarah tried not to think about it, knowing her mother would eventually come around to the idea.

In the meantime, the Normandy was docked at Arcturus station where the ship was undergoing repairs. The Council had given them a few days of leave and with the Citadel under reconstruction after Sovereign’s attack, Admiral Hackett had ordered the ship to the Alliance Headquarters.

Sarah was worried that the ship would empty of her alien companions and that with the Alliance’s duties she would have to kick both men off her ship; but it seemed like Hackett might actually let her use the ship as a Spectre and not just as the Alliance soldier she was.

She’d said goodbye to Liara, Wrex, and Tali who all had their own duties to attend to. Nihlus was still assigned as her mentor, despite her appointment to a spectre in the aftermath of the Battle for the Citadel. 

Garrus, Sarah thought, reaching down to take his talons in her hand, was thinking about applying to become a spectre. She wasn’t quite sure if the life truly suited him, but she knew that kind-hearted turian, at the very least, felt left out of the Spectre circle. Sarah thought maybe he was trying to prove himself to them, but he hadn’t needed a title for Sarah to fall in love with him.

The fact that her alarm hadn’t yet gone off surely meant that it was far too early to be waking up; but as her eyes fluttered open and acclimatized to the darkness, Sarah knew that she was up for the day. 

The bed shifted and cool talons brushed over her face, clearing away a few tendrils of bedhead.

“Morning,” she whispered.

“You look pensive.”

Sarah hummed an affirmation.

“What’s wrong, little one?”

Nihlus’ hand trailed down to rest over the hand she had placed on his carapace.

“Nothing, just enjoying the peace.”

A flash of a dream, a nightmare, that must have triggered her ascent into the living, burst into her mind’s eye. The image of Nihlus lying dead from a headshot on some sort of prefabricated dock or concrete foundation shook Sarah to her core.

“That is not the look of someone enjoying the peace.”

Behind her, Garrus shifted. She wasn’t entirely sure he was awake, but she didn’t want to worry Nihlus needlessly.

“You remember Eden Prime?”

His talons tightened around her hand, wordlessly reminding her of the fear that her partner had experienced when she’d pulled Alenko away from the beacon. They hadn’t been an item at that point, but Sarah had since learned that Nihlus’ feelings for her had been strong since the very beginning.

“I keep having nightmares. Saren betraying you out on the field. Killing you with a headshot from behind and me racing over to your dead body.”

Nihlus’ subvocals hummed with anguish for split second, then his palm cupped her cheek.

“I am alive and well, little one.”

“You just as easily could have been dead.”

Sarah could see him flinch in the dim light emanating from various sources in her quarters. 

“What happens now that I’m a spectre? Will you stick around?”

“For as long as you wish me to.”

Garrus nipped at her shoulder, his mandibles brushing over her skin. 

“I will remain as well,” he said, announcing the fact that he was awake.

Sarah relaxed back into the turian behind her.

Though her body was still covered by the blanket, Sarah could feel Garrus moving his hand up her torso. A shudder coursed through her as he cupped her gently and Nihlus shifted to face the two of them. His mandibles fluttered out of the way as his tongue brushed against her lips.

Heat suffused her and Sarah moaned at their combined touch.

A knock sounded on the door, and Sarah very nearly growled.

“Ignore it,” Nihlus muttered.

Garrus pulled her hips flush against his and she could feel his plates begin to stir.

A second, more demanding, knock on the door, this time in rapid succession.

“Commander?”

Sarah sighed, recognizing the voice of Lt Alenko.

“He has impeccable timing,” Garrus whispered in her ear.

“Commander?” 

Sarah pulled the blankets away and climbed off the end of the bed. As quickly as possible, she grabbed a regulation t-shirt and pulled it over her head, foregoing a bra in her hurry. Then practically tripping over her own feet, she pulled on a pair of under armor leggings.

Just before reaching the door, Sarah grabbed a stray stylus from her desk and twisted it into her hair, giving herself a bun so it didn’t look like she was being ravished a second ago.

She stepped out into the common area, allowing the door to almost close behind her. 

“Have you checked your messages at all in the last ten hours?” Kaidan asked, incredulously.

“I’ve been busy,” she said, feeling the first frisson of anger in her chest.

“We have a new assignment.”

“I will check my messages shortly.”

“Wheels up in twenty minutes.”

Sarah frowned, what could be so important that the Admiral was having them rush away from the station so quickly.

“Watch your tone, Lieutenant,” she said, annoyed by the sharp accusation in her marine’s words.

Kaidan snapped a salute and turned to stalk off, despite the fact that she hadn’t dismissed him. 

“The hell?” she muttered, turning around to return to her quarters where she could get dressed and ready to face whatever mission Hackett had for the ship.

By the time she walked back in, Nihlus and Garrus were already out of bed, putting on their armor and laying hers out on the bed.

“I suppose you heard that,” she said, needlessly.

Garrus hummed.

“You shouldn’t put up with that sort of behavior on your ship,” Nihlus said, his subvocals trilling with barely contained anger.

Sarah shrugged.

“He’s just being pissy, the L.T. probably has a migraine.”

“Still,” Garrus said, walking over to her, and towering easily over her 5’6” frame. “He should know better than talking to you like that. You’re his commanding officer.” 

His palm cupped her cheek, turning her eyes to look up into his deep blue gaze.

“I’ll have a word with him later. Whatever Hackett’s worried about must be big.”

A few hours later, Sarah was standing at the galaxy map watching the radar ping as they took the relay into the Amada System. The Alliance Council had rejected the idea that Sovereign was a Reaper, they insisted that it was simply a partnership between the rogue spectre and a race of AI that had attacked the Citadel, and that the Galactic Council would be announcing the same explanation of events to the galaxy soon enough. 

Needless to say, Sarah was pissed.

Admiral Hackett had sent the Normandy to the Amada System to track down geth activity. He’d said that at least four ships had disappeared; but Sarah knew that he just wanted to get her out of the way. The Admiral hadn’t said those words specifically, but the intent had been clear when she’d arrived in his office behind Lt Alenko.

Nihlus had wisely stayed out of sight, but Garrus had been standing at the terminal nearby for the past hour. Silently watching, irrationally grating on her nerves, and doing his best to sooth her by humming a few of her favorite songs in a low sub-vocal tone that belied the fact that he was in the middle of a warship.

When he switched to humming an old folk song, one that had recently been updated by an asari trio, she found she couldn’t handle it anymore.

“Garrus,” she said, wincing at the edge in her own voice. “Can you go check on the status of the Mako repairs for me?”

Garrus nodded, his eyes darting quickly away, and Sarah realized that she’d hurt him. She hadn’t meant to, her dear sweet Turian noodle, but the Admiral’s words were sharp in her mind. Watching Garrus disappear around the corner, Sarah promised herself to make it up to him later tonight.

The day was long as they searched up and down the sector not finding a single sign of geth anywhere. The Normandy had only searched a tenth of the system, but how much more time would they be expected to waste on this fool’s errand.

Most of the day shift had gone to the mess to enjoy an evening meal before returning to their posts for the final four hours of their shift. With only a handful of people on duty, Sarah very nearly slammed the datapad she was holding into the countertop of the Commander’s terminal at the map.

One of the marines jumped, but did not turn around. A credit to the woman’s nerves. At least some people could respect their commanding officers.

The words raced through her mind before she could stop them and immediately Sarah felt like a complete bitch.

She sat on the step and rubbed her temples with the heels of her hands. First Alenko’s attitude, then Hackett’s stupid unbelievable orders, then the rude way she’d treated one of the men that she loved with all her heart, and she could barely keep a lid on it all.

Her omni-tool chimed with a notification and though she was tempted to ignore it, the last thing Sarah needed was another dress down from the Admiral. So, she flicked her wrist, activating the screen, and read the quick message from Wrex.

“Your Turians have turned the shuttle bay into a wrestling ring.”

Sarah frowned, but noting that there was still twenty minutes in the break, decided to go down to the lowest deck to find out why her men were fighting.

All of Sarah’s questions were answered when she arrived on the lower deck, the door lifting to reveal Garrus and Nihlus sparring on a makeshift ring, made of some padding and what looked to be the plastic tarps that should have been secured over a few crates in the corner.

A quick glance around showed Sarah that the rest of the crew had vacated the area, no one was in the shuttle bay besides herself and the two turians.

They’d stripped down to their under armor and seemed to be practicing some ancient form of Turian hand-to-hand combat, some martial art.

Neither stopped what they were doing when she walked over, their minds clearly in battle mode. The turians really could just flip a switch in their minds and focus on the task at hand like a true predator. It was something Sarah admired about the species. 

She leaned back against an uncovered storage crate, and crossed her arms over her chest, watching the artistry in their movements. It was clear that this was more than a sparring session, that they must be following a ritual, the way the two men were focused on each move they made. 

There was something almost arousing in the way the two men sparred. Never before had she even thought about fighting in such a manner; but there was something undeniably sensual about it.

Shaking her head clear of the thought, Sarah thought about sneaking back into the elevator and heading back upstairs.

“Enjoying the show, Shepard?” Wrex asked, breaking the silence around her, and nearly causing Sarah to jump out of her skin.

“Wrex,” she answered, gathering her wits.

The older man gave a deep low chuckle, and Sarah gave him a sideways look.

“Do they do this a lot?”

Wrex turned his red eyes toward the two sparring men, something akin to a smirk crossed his lips.

“These two? No. This is the first time they’ve sparred.”

“How can you tell?”

“You live long enough, you pick these things up.”

“I don’t think want to know how you picked that up.”

Wrex gave a deep belly laugh and Sarah turned to see Garrus falter and the Spectre gained the upper hand.

There was something in the heat of the room that ratcheted up when Sarah watched Nihlus pin Garrus to the impromptu mat. Her throat went dry, as if the battle lust they were feeling were more than that, and it made Sarah vaguely uncomfortable.

“Go on and join them if you wish,” Wrex said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Sarah glanced at the Krogan to see a lascivious grin on his face. He looked more feral than usual and a shudder raced through her body. 

“I don’t think so,” she said, guessing that it would be a bad idea to get in between the two sparring turians.

“Your loss,” Wrex shrugged. The large krogan turned and headed toward the elevator. “I’m headed up to get some food. Join me?”

“I think I’ll just stay here,” she said. “Make sure they don’t really hurt each other.”

Wrex only chuckled before pressing the door button. He disappeared a few seconds later and Sarah turned back to watch the two men fight on the mat. They battled, trading blows and dominance, for another ten minutes or so when Nihlus took a step back, breaking formation and reaching for a bottle of water.

“You’re a fast learner,” he said between large drags of the cool liquid.

“It took a few minutes for me to realize you were using the old Longivari stance.”

The spectre laughed and closed the bottle before tossing it through the air at the younger turian. It was only then that he turned, his electric blue eyes zeroing in on Sarah, leaning back against the crate.

“Commander,” he said, picking up a towel and rubbing it over the fringe on his head. 

“Spectre,” she said, giving him a nod. “I didn’t realize that you were looking for a place to spar.”

“We’ve made it work.”

He folded up the towel and waved toward the mat. 

“I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. But what brought this on?”

The two turians looked at each other, and she could see them mentally sparring over what they were going to say.

She raised an eyebrow at the nervousness that had crossed between the two of them.

Nihlus gave a nervous cough and fear began to rise up in her chest.

“Now you’re starting to scare me,” she said, hating the quiver of fear in her voice.

Immediately the two men relaxed, looking almost shamed that they’d caused her to be afraid.

“We were trying to settle an argument,” Garrus started.

“Not an argument,” Nihlus corrected, taking a step forward. 

When the shuttle bay went silent once more, Sarah merely stared at Nihlus waiting for more of a response.

Moving more quickly than she’d seen from the older turian in a while, he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. 

A muffled yelp of surprise slipped out of her mouth. He was gripping her like she’d disappear.

“You’ve had a bad day,” Garrus said, coming up beside them. 

His talons brushed over her shoulder.

Sarah pulled away, her mind racing as it tried to put everything together. Nihlus moved to nuzzle her neck, dipping his head low.

“And what’s this?”

“In Turian culture, when one person in a relationship is feeling like you’ve been feeling, it’s custom for the other members to fight for the honor of being the first to comfort the hurting one.”

Sarah frowned, not really understanding what Garrus was saying.

“I won,” Nihlus said, murmuring against the pulse suddenly racing on her neck. “So I will attend to your needs first.”

Realization dawned on Sarah as Nihlus pulled away, giving her a grin.

“Come, your quarters await,” he said, reaching down for her hand.

“But there are still hours left on the shift,” she protested. “And everyone is still enjoying their break in the mess.”

“Lunch break ended five minutes ago.”

“And Pressly can handle a few hours in charge,” Nihlus grinned.

Sarah frowned, pinching the bridge of her nose. To allow these two to do what they wanted was clearly not in the best interest of the crew, but after the day she’d had, it was tempting to take their offer.

“Pressly,” Nihlus said, speaking into the microphone on his omni-tool. “The Commander isn’t feeling well. Can you take the bridge for the rest of the shift?”

“Of course, Spectre Kyrik,” the answer came back.

Nihlus guided her over to the elevator door. It was going to be a long night, Sarah thought, seeing both Garrus and Nihlus grinning down at her. Long but deeply satisfying.


End file.
